In America, we have a society infused with technology but a populace that is scientifically illiterate. That leads to governance by political correctness rather than by critical evaluation. We’re not alone; similar things happen elsewhere. Continue reading
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Blog 35. Complex Terrorism
Terrorism doesn’t work, but fear of terrorism works very well.
Scientific American on terrorism.
The August, 2013 Scientific American offered an article, “Five Myths of Terrorism,” by Michael Shermer. Shermer says terrorism doesn’t work because the terrorists have reason to perpetrate violence; they aren’t under central control, they are not unique geniuses, and they are not deadly compared to the annual average of 13,700 homicides. Shermer notes that most terrorist groups failed to attain their strategic goals.
Shermer is wrong because he ignores the effectiveness of the terrorist acts of 9/11. Continue reading
Blog 34. Ancient Greeks and Current Monetocracy
When life gets chaotic
I have suggested that, when daily living becomes sufficiently chaotic, people will look for simple solutions and welcome dictatorial control that promises simplicity. There’s some ancient Greek wisdom to support this view, although the Greeks didn’t have our mathematical notion of complexity that emerged during the last thirty years. Continue reading
Blog 33. A New Civil War or Only Old Chaos?
Tea Party Rebellion
This month, the federal government was deliberately shut down by the Tea Party, a minor faction in the House of Representatives that controls the larger Republican Party. The objective was to stop implementation of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA” or “ObamaCare”), which had already been passed by Congress and declared constitutional by the Supreme Court. That’s extreme—to hold everything hostage to a particular narrow objective. Continue reading
Blog 32. McCutcheon, the Supreme Court, and Feedback
The lawsuit
A year ago, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a lawsuit brought by an Alabama businessman Shaun McCutcheon and the Republican National Committee (RNC). McCutcheon, who owns a firm that develops coal mining and electrical generation, appealed to the Supreme Court, claiming that the Federal Election Campaign Act (FERC) restricted freedom of speech. That law limits the total contributions to political candidates, PACs, and party committees by individual persons. On October 8, 2013, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments. Continue reading
Blog 31. Book review: Little Black Lies
In 2012, a little—almost pocket-size—book appeared, entitled “Little Black Lies,” by Jeff Gailus, published in Canada by Rocky Mountain Books with support from several Canadian arts-related associations. Jeff Gailus is a writer, based in Missoula Montana, self-described as one “who has been writing about the collision of science, nature and politics for 15 years.” The book appears to be a diatribe against the manipulation of law and social rules by the industrial organizations behind development of the Athabasca tar sands in Alberta, the source of whatever might flow across the US through the politically famous (or infamous) Keystone pipeline. Continue reading
Blog 30. The Movie Inequality for All
The Movie: Inequality for All
When it comes to your theater, don’t miss it.
Robert Reich is a professor who teaches public policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He was President Clinton’s Secretary of Labor. Now he’s also the witty star of an entertaining new film released this week to theaters across the country. The film was directed by Jacob Kornbluth.
In earlier blogs of this sequence, I outlined how the society and the economy are complex systems—and how, if you want to change a complex system, you must adjust one or more of the rules by which it operates. Reich expands on this in regard to the increasing disparity of wealth in our economy. Continue reading
Blog 29. The Real, the Ideal, and Stories
Underlying every social tension there is a gap between the real situation and the ideals of the society. For example, American law espouses the ideals of equality, justice, fairness, and popular consensus. However, our politics and our business are based on competition, domination, manipulation, exclusion, and political spin. This gap between the real and the ideal generates both outrage and a malaise of helplessness. Continue reading